Day 2 of YNU Weekend in Upper Teesdale 1-2 Aug 2026

 What did we find on day 2 of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union weekend visit to Upper Teesdale on 1-2 August 2026?

I joined several people in the YNU at the village of Holwick near Middleton-in-Teesdale as part of the Teesdale weekend. You might be able to see two more people in this picture disappearing into the distance.   NY903270

The day started sunny. Remember this is the year of the drought of 2026 - but fortunately Teesdale lying north and west a it does, still had some greenness left in the vegetation.

Terry in the seat had just given us maps. He suggested a walk following this road which turned into a track for about a mile or two (past Holwick Scar on the left ) then taking a footpath down through a field and a very steep slope with scrub to a wet meadow/flush at the bottom then returning along a track. The walk turned out to be only 2.5 miles but seemed much longer as we kept stopping.

First we had a look at the wall nearby (off ) on the left.

Jill showed us some Umbilicaria cylindrica  (Fringed Rock Tripe lichen) In VC 65, indeed in all Yorkshire there are only a few records of this species, nearly all in Upper Teesdale. Its main locations are  in the Lake District and Scotland and Wales

She had been shown this on a recent visit with some BLS Members from the NE of England.

(Note in this blogpost for the first time I am making a big effort to use "English" (or American) names - gleaned from  Yahr and Stoakley's "Lichens of Britain & Ireland" and from iNaturalist.)

Umbilicaria cylindrica  (Fringed Rock Tripe lichen)

A close up of this Umbilicaria cylindrica show its black gyrose apothecia and some branched black cilia at the thallus lobe margins. 

The walls include rock from the Whin Sill which is dolerite - It has  quartz and  minerals in it. I think this rock is fairly acid.  (Certainly acid, compared to limestone)

On a cap-stone nearly by was some Polycauliona (formerly Xanthoria) candelaria sens lat. (Shrubby Sunburst Lichen). This tends to grow where birds perch leaving nitrogenous droppings. This is more abundant in eastern Britain.

We set off up the path - Stella and Ian, Jill, Janet and myself.  with the tall cliffs of Holwick Scar on the left. (The Whin Sill) . Near the summit of the path a big boulder with white lichens cried out to be looked at. 

It had the lichen Ophioparma ventosa (Alpine Bloodspot lichen) growing on it

Ophioparma ventosa has red apothecia. It has areoles (islands)  which have a lumpy warted surface.

Parsley Fern, common in the Lake District was growing by some rocks.

We came to a stile supported by two sheep (Read about the sculptor here)

It  - the stile  to take the footpath down -  was only a mile from our starting point, but seemed much further in the dry treeless exposed landscape

The field was grazed and relatively flat at first. We found a moth - the Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata. The forewings cover the hindwings.

The Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata

The Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata

The path then got much steeper.. This steep slope is labelled "The Bands"  on the OS map. The slope was fenced off from grazing so the Juniper scrub was able to grow and the vegetation was longer. Parts were wet heath. I would have liked to stop and explore but the path between the shrubs was  very narrow and steep , and no space for us to stop and sit. So we continued down to a flatter pasture with flushes at the bottom, found a tree to shelter from the sun on a rabbit grazed slope and had lunch.

(For reference I see we were near Hield House .. and less than 1km away from the path by the Tees where we had had lunch the previous day)

I enjoyed my fish bites and a few chips, saved from supper yesterday at Middleton-in-Teesdale Fish and Chip shop. Doubly delicious when you are hungry.

Eating a Fish-Bite overlooking the wet pasture with the foot of "The Banks" beyond.

In the flush some rushes had galls. Larvae of the insect Livia junci (formerly juncorum) cause the this

https://www.naturespot.org/species/livia-juncorum

Here are some lichens  from a boulder in the stream in that paasture/meadow, and from rocks and the gate nearby.. But I am not confident of their names

A Cladonia on rock protruding from the flush.

Hypogymnia tubulosa on the gate post

Probably Ochrolechia androgyna   - but I did not have time to test it C (bleach) to see if it would go red.

I went out of the field round to the land above the pasture - the fenced off area  called The Bands on the map that we had walked down through. Here the Juniper was growing on wet heath - but with flush species too including Tawny Sedge  - so it looked a nice mix. There was Sundew in the sphagnum, and Pyrenean Scurvey-grass I wondered if there were special species of Sphagnum but there was not time to look.

Juniper berries

Pyrenean Scurvey-grass

Photogenic bales. Our next stopping point was the bush on the far left of the picture just before the plantation.

Sawfly larvae on alder

Below is a picture of the "Black caterpillar" - an beetle larva mentioned in the video above.

Beetle larva

Coleophora moth on alder

Further on we came to a new plantation. I wish they did not plant the trees so closely.

This Rowan at the edge had was found to support various organisims on its leaves including the Rust fungus which needs Juniper as its alternate host.  See the video below

Rust 

Under-surface of Rust

There were also galls caused by  mites. 
These are  caused by the (I think) Blister Mite Eriophyes pyri. See my post during Covid Walks, of Rowan with this mite

Xanthoria calcicola  (This does not appear to have an iNaturalist name)

Xanthoria calcicola. This has a warty lumpy thallus.

I still may add a couple of videos.   Special thanks to Jill with her knowledge of galls and insects.

I had an interesting trip back through VCs 65,69,65 again and 64 - maybe one day I will do a post on that.

I am looking forward to the 2026 YNU AGM on 7 November at York and seeing friends  there again.

Day 1 of YNU Weekend in Upper Teesdale 1-2 Aug 2026

Join me as I go from Settle up to Upper Teesdale for a two day meeting with the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union to Upper Teesdale.

When I first worked at Malham Tarn over 45 years ago, I read a paper comparing the special vegetation communities found at Malham area, Upper Teesdale and Ben Lawers.  So I was keen to see more of Upper Teesdale. (Especially Arctic Alpine plants found in basic flush communities)

Day1 -Yorkshire Day (1 Aug) was a walk beside and above High Force on the "Old Yorkshire" side of the River Tees  - VC 65. The north side is  County Durham  (VC 66)  

The previous evening I had returned from the British Lichen Society Field Meeting in Worcestershire. - all the way to Settle.

Both Settle and Middleton-in-Teesdale are near the water divide of the Pennine ridge. I set off on my journey north from Settle, up the Ribble to Ribblehead, then following the tops of the Pennines via Hawes  then up the Ure (which flows east) up over the tops to the top of the Eden Valley the Eden - which flows west, then over from Brough to Middleton and the Tees which flows east.

The picture below has Wild Boar Fell on the left, Mallerstang on the right and the valley leads down to Kirkby Stephen with Brough beyond. Brough is at the foot of the pale hills you see in the distance topped by white clouds.  This photo was taken at 9.23am and I was supposed to be at High Force, Middleton-in-Teesdale, 18 miles over the tops beyond Brough by before 10.30..   but what splendid views..

View down the Eden Valley

I met the part of the group that had not yet set off. I presumed the moth catchers had long finished their work.

I followed the people at my own pace,  sampling the raspberries on the way.

This ia a view point of High Force - only one side had water today.

It is worth enlarging this picture (maybe press (control +) to read about the geology). 

The group had continued to the section above the waterfall, and were having lunch

Acid loving lichens including Map Lichen (green)  (Rhizocarpon geographicum)

Kian (right) is looking at Lichens and Jackson (third from Left)  is looking at Mosses.

Alastair exploring on the left.

Lunch

A spider in Andy's jar.

There were excellent flush communities to explore. I just show a picture of the rare Variegated Horsetail  Equisetum variegatum here.  It  does grow in a few flushes round Settle too (well Malham) - but it is good to have a picture to remind myself of points about it:- the stems creep; the black scales round the stem have long white points. and there are papillae on the stem.

There were a mixture of acid loving and base loving plants. 

I spent much of the time with Ian and Stella,  making a list of sedges.  All too soon it was time to return..

Across the Wynch Bridge

Wynch Bridge

In Middleton-in-Teesdale we had the customary plenary tea and reporting session.

We then had fish and chips on a bench outside the local fish and chip shop in Middleton in Teesdale.- I had fish bites -  A small piece of fish cut up and the bits fried separately - They were EXCELLENT - And I saved half which I ate for lunch the following day, in the shade of a junipoer bush next to a pleasant flush.

People returned home. I was lucky to find space and treat myself to stay at in the Langdon Beck Hotel, with Ian and Stella.

After the meal Ian took us up for a drive to Cow Green Reservoir.

We watched sunset over Dunn Fell and Cross Fell. 

Just four month's earlier I had been on the top of Great Dunn Fell and Little Dunn Fell, looking down to Cow Green Reservoir with the British Lichen Society. 

Here is a picture taken then, on 13 April 2026 at 11.07am with the Lichen Society. See the reservoir in the distance. Me on the left. Philippa in the centre.

And the same rock from a different angle:-

I try and play a tune on the top of each mountain peak... Meanwhile the others lichenise

   

~However on 1Aug 2026  it was getting darker

So we returned, stopping to look at owls on the way.

I slept well.

I got up at 6am for a walk - to see more of the Hotel at Langdon Beck.. 

We had breakfast. I bought a copy of Margaret Bradshaw's book, and a copy of  Lost Weardale Farms.. with a mention of 

View towards the Whin Sill beyond the window sill a
nd my two new books in the foreground

but now it is time to leave the Langdon Beck Hotel and go and meet the others at Holwick for Day 2.